PROVO — If Jared McLaughlin weren't so persistent and dedicated to his goal — and if he had listened to his mom — he might have been kicking footballs near his hometown, at Auburn, the program that enjoyed an undefeated season a year ago.

Instead, he opted to serve as an obscure backup kicker at BYU, the program that has experienced three consecutive losing seasons.

"I live about 45 minutes from Auburn," McLaughlin said. "I could have been on a winning team that was tearing it up. They were looking for kickers, too. My mom, even last year, was like, 'Jared, get out of there, come back down here and play.'"

But he wanted to kick for the Cougars. So he decided to wait his turn.

Now, the 6-foot-5, 195-pound junior from Wetumpka, Ala., is the Cougars' starting placekicker (don't confuse him with punter Derek McLaughlin — the two are not related).

"My patience is paying off," Jared McLaughlin said. "My mom recognizes that now. She was supportive, but just not for football. She thought they were giving me the runaround the whole time I was here and that I never got my shot. But how can you, behind Matt Payne? You know?"

Good point. Payne was BYU's placekicker for four straight seasons, and McLaughlin was his backup for three of them. McLaughlin's only varsity experience came a year ago, when he booted a 53-yard kickoff in the Cougars' 49-16 victory over San Diego State.

"He started out as a punter and worked into being a pretty good kicker," said kickers coach Paul Tidwell. "Whether he can do it in front of a crowd in a game situation, or how he's going to do under pressure, we don't know. Here on the field, he's proved that he's been inconsistent. He's got to work on that and be more consistent. I think he's got a lot of potential. He has a strong leg. I think he needs to get a couple of kicks under his belt where he has success in a game situation."

While he was biding his time as Payne's understudy, McLaughlin learned plenty.

"Matt was always giving me pointers, giving me tips, helping me out. I definitely looked at him as I mentor, I guess," he said. "Hopefully I picked up things from him, especially the mental aspect of it."

At Wetumpka High School, McLaughlin played receiver, safety, punter and kicker and earned all-county and all-area honors as a junior and senior. "I was recruited heavily by a bunch of schools down there, but they all knew I was coming to BYU," he said. "It was kind of my goal from the get-go."